According to a new report from the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH), the health, safety and economic toll of alcohol on Bay State residents far exceeds the revenue from state liquor taxes.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an average of 2,760 people die from alcohol each year. The leading causes include 641 deaths from poisoning, 350 deaths from alcoholic liver disease, 294 deaths from cancer related to alcohol use, and 211 deaths from liver cirrhosis.
The number of deaths and disabilities from alcohol increased by 13.8% from 2009 to 2019 – faster than lung cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, dietary risks or tobacco use. During the pandemic, nearly two in five (38%) adults in Massachusetts reported increasing their alcohol consumption, while nationally, alcohol-related deaths increased 25.5% from 2019-2020.
Meanwhile, state liquor taxes have lost 72% of their real dollar value since they were last levied and are now less than a nickel per drink. The CDC estimated that drinking problems cost the state $5.6 billion in 2010, the most recent year for which an estimate is available. Of that, $2.26 billion (or $345 per person and $0.77 per drink consumed) was paid directly by governments.
“Alcohol clearly doesn’t pay in the Bay State,” Rep. Kay Khan (D-11th Middlesex District) said in response to the report. Rep. Khan has repeatedly introduced bills to increase the state liquor tax. “Our alcohol taxes are long overdue, while alcohol problems continue to grow.”
Massachusetts is known for a strict alcohol policy and high taxes, but this is inaccurate, according to the report. While Bay State drinkers consume more than the national average and binge drink, the state’s alcohol policy ranks 17th out of the 50 states for restrictiveness, and it has fallen behind other states in moving in more restrictive directions.
Massachusetts has five times the number of bar and restaurant licenses allowed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Of 16 states that set retail alcohol quotas, only three — Montana, South Dakota, and Washington State — are more generous with those licenses than the Bay State.
And the state’s taxes on beer and wine are the lowest in New England states, while the tax on distilled liquor is lower than any of its neighbors except New Hampshire, which sells liquor at a discount in its state stores.
In Massachusetts, alcohol policy is mostly discussed from a business perspective. Health and safety data tells a different alcohol story and needs to be part of the policy debate.”
David Jernigan, lead author of the report and Professor of Health Law, Policy and Management at BUSPH
Binge drinking — consuming four or more drinks for women or five or more for men within two hours — is the most common and costly pattern of binge drinking in the United States, according to the CDC. In Massachusetts, binge drinking is common among both the general population and underage drinkers: 44% of current drinkers (last 30 days) ages 12 and older and 63% of current underage drinkers (ages 12 to 20) have recently consumed alcohol Month.
“The fact that Massachusetts has such a high rate of adolescent binge drinking is very concerning,” said Senator Jason Lewis, Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Education and previously Senate chair of the Joint Committee on Public Health. “This is undoubtedly related to the easy and widespread availability of cheap alcohol and is a public health issue that we hope to address in the new legislature.”
The report was co-authored by Xixi Zhou, a Master of Public Health candidate at BUSPH, and funded by a grant from the BUSPH Ideas Center.
Source:
Boston University School of Public Health
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